It's a blog. About my misfit dogs and how they (ruin) improve my life. And other things.

March 17, 2014

Roxy's Story: Part 1

I was recently asked by the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club os Southern California (the group that rescued Roxy originally) to write Roxy's story for their newsletter. I thought I should share it with you since I have been light on the posts lately.

Here is part one.

I still remember getting the call from Beth Mendoza. My husband and I had recently visited with a corgi we were hoping to adopt, but had found out that there was another family in line ahead of us and (fortunately for that dog!) they were working out. We were happy for that dog, of course, but were sad that our dream of adopting a little red and white female corgi wasn’t going to happen as soon as we’d hoped. But then Beth called me about Darla (we renamed her Roxy). She said, “I am fostering a puppy. Most people don’t want to adopt a puppy – it takes a lot of extra time…” I don’t remember what I said, but I am sure it was along the lines of, “We will take her!” We went through the necessary steps and protocol, and the next few days were a flurry of puppy-proofing the house, buying dog bowls and collars, and having a stern chat with our other rescue dog, Rigby, to PLEASE be on his best behavior when he met this new puppy.

Roxy was a spitfire when we met her. She was incredibly loving and happy to meet us, but was most interested in what Rigby was doing in HER yard. One of the first interactions they had was to play tug of war with a stick. Rigby pulled a little too hard and Roxy gave a little puppy glare and mustered the best growl/bark she could. It was then and there that Rigby learned who was boss. It’s been seven years and he’s only forgotten his place a few times. More on that later.

This tiny little dog came into our lives like a Tasmanian devil, making everything in her path fall in love with her in the process. She was (and is) willful, spunky, adventurous, sometimes disobedient, and always full of love for every creature around her. Well, creatures with two legs anyway. Very quickly everything in our house became hers. In fact, we say that her life’s motto is, “All of this is mine and not yours.” In between policing everything she can see, and making sure all humans and dogs in her family are accounted for (she will run around like crazy until she finds all the “sheep” in her herd), she is busy making up games for herself and finding new ways to be adorable.

In fact, her most adorable quality – if I can even narrow that down – is her “roaring.” When we first adopted her, Beth told us she made a Chewbacca sound she was happy. Sure enough, when we would let her out of her crate in the morning, she would stretch and proudly announce herself with a gurgling sound. We started calling it her “roar” and eventually she learned to do it on command. It is her main mode of communication now. Does she want to eat? ROAR. Does she want a walk? ROAR! Did Rigby just take the toy she was playing with earlier? ROAR!! Does she just want to say for no particular reason? MORE ROARING.

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Hello, I was wondering what ages are your dogs and what other precautions you are still doing or preventing with your corgi attacks? What is helping and what has not? Have you ever used a muzzle or think of using homeopathic medicines? Thanks for your time.